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CHANGES IN AMERICAN VALUES
AND CULTURE
Brenna Riley
AMERICAN VALUES
Crime rates shot up because many unemployed
people resorted to theft to put food on the table.
Health care was not a priority.
“Poor Man’s Divorce” Men would simply run away
from their marriage.
AMERICAN VALUES
Mass migrations throughout the 30’s.
New England and Upstate New York lost citizens seeking
opportunity elsewhere.
Great plains lost population to California and Arizona
Many migrants were adolescents seeking opportunity away
from family.
600,000 people caught hitching rides on trains during the
Great Depression.
AMERICAN VALUES
American Dream
American Nightmar
e
Land of Opportun
ity
Land of Desperati
on
Independent Land Owners
Searching for
work in Californi
a
CULTURE
Higher education remained out of reach for most Americans.
The male population in high schools increased because the
chances of getting jobs were so low many decided to stay in
school longer.
Marriages were delayed because males wanted to wait until
they could provide for a family before getting married.
Birthrates fell sharply to avoid extra expenses.
Cigarette smoking and alcoholism increased.
ECONOMIC PERCEPTIONS (PRE -DEPRESSION)
Laissez-faire was preferred.
Laissez-faire – Opposes government interference or regulation
of commerce beyond the minimum necessary.
It was believed that to alleviate, instead of aggravate, an
economy the only valid course of action is to leave it alone.
Gold standard: Having a stable and reliable source of currency
is when the economy functions the best. (Classical viewpoint)
Roaring twenties
IMPACT ON ECONOMIC PERCEPTIONS
Call for an expanded role of government.
Significant loss in self-esteem, men blamed themselves.
People were quickly losing hope and there seemed to be no jobs.
Prostitution rose at a desperate attempt to obtain currency.
Income of the average American was reduced by 40% from $2,300 to $1,500.
Life Expectancy: Male, 58.1; Female, 61.6
Average salary: $1,368
Unemployment rises to 25%
Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf; Round Steak, 42
cents a pound
UNEMPLOYMENT
in 1929: 3.2%
in 1930: 8.9%
in 1931: 16.3%
in 1932: 24.1%
in 1933: 24.9%
in 1934: 21.7%
in 1935: 20.1%
in 1936: 16.9%
in 1937: 14.3%
in 1938: 19.0%
in 1939: 17.2%
RISE OF GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE
FDR is elected in 1932 and begins implementing new laws.
FDR began to institute programs to help the poor,
unemployed and elderly.
New Deal: Providing for suffering American's, improve the
economy, passing new laws so there was not as many poor
people
15 bills in his first 100 days of presidency.
http://youtu.be/PXY7TkrPPzI
PRIMARY SOURCE
Origin: FDR Recovery Plan Fireside Chat 10/23/1933
Purpose: To relay to the nation in clear terms what steps the government
will take to speed up the recovery, including the introduction of new
government programs.
Value: FDR kept stating that he was not satisfied and would do anything
he could to improve living conditions in the USA. This would have certainly
boosted the spirits of the American people.
Limitation: Although this method was effective, not all Americans could
afford radios at this time and would have needed a way to get the
information he was presenting,
RISE GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE
A national bank holiday: The day after his inauguration, FDR declared a "bank holiday," closing all banks in
the country to prevent a collapse of the banking system. With the banks closed, Roosevelt took measures to
restore the public's confidence in the financial systems; when the banks reopened a week later, the panic was
over.22
Ending the gold standard: To avoid deflation, FDR quickly suspended the gold standard.23 This meant that
U.S. dollars no longer had to be backed up by gold reserves, which also meant that the government could
print—and spend—more money to "prime the pump" of the economy.
Glass-Steagall Act: The Glass-Steagall Act imposed regulations on the banking industry that guided it for
over fifty years, until it was repealed in 1999.24 The law separated commercial from investment banking,
forced banks to get out of the business of financial investment, banned the use of bank deposits in
speculation.25 It also created the FDIC[link to "FDIC" passage below]. The effect of the law was to give
greater stability to the banking system.
FDIC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission backed all bank deposits up to $2500, meaning that most
bank customers no longer had to worry that a bank failure would wipe out their life savings.26 The agency
continues to insure American deposits today.
GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE
Federal Securities Act: This act regulated the stock markets and preceded the creation of the Securities and
Exchange Commission in 1934, which continues to regulate U.S. stock markets to this day.
Agricultural Adjustment Act: The AAA provided relief to farmers by paying them to reduce production; this also
helped to reduce crop surpluses and increase prices for crops.27
Civilian Conservation Corps: To reduce unemployment, put 250,000 young men to work in rural conservation
projects, mostly in national parks and forests.28
Tennessee Valley Authority: The TVA provided electrification and other basic improvements the impoverished
interior of the South.
National Industrial Recovery Act: One of FDR's more controversial measures, it created new agencies and
regulations that tightened the relationship between government and business. It was declared unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court in 1935.
Public Works Administration: Funded the construction of public works projects across the country, including
schools, hospitals, airports, dams, and ports, as well as ships for the Navy and airports for the Army Air Corps.29
Federal Emergency Relief Act: Provided direct relief, training and work for unemployed Americans. It was
abolished in 1935 and its programs folded into other agencies
THE RED DECADE
Term coined by Eugene Lyon
Popularization of radical ideologies, including the
Communist Party.
Radical lefts, American intellectuals and even some
government officials.
Liberal press in America was enamored with
Stalin.
RED DECADE
Gitlow vs. New York:
“Gitlow, a socialist, was arrested for distributing copies of a "left-wing
manifesto" that called for the establishment of socialism through strikes
and class action of any form. Gitlow was convicted under a state criminal
anarchy law, which punished advocating the overthrow of the
government by force. At his trial, Gitlow argued that since there was no
resulting action flowing from the manifesto's publication, the statute
penalized utterences without propensity to incitement of concrete
action. The New York courts had decided that anyone who advocated the
doctrine of violent revolution violated the law.”
POP CULTUREThe motto, “Art as a social weapon.”
was embraced.
Writers/artists/intellectuals joined
forces to make socially conscious art.
Popularization of the radio change
how accessible culture was.
New Deal federal dollars enabled a lot
of art to be created.
Dancing and music lifted spirits during
the great depression.
POP CULTURE
Symphonies and live bands in clubs
struggled because of the
popularization of radios.
With the end of prohibition in 1933,
going to clubs became very popular.
Swing, Jazz and Folk music was
very popular.
Victoria Spivey, Bill Cox, Rudy
Vallee, Ted Lewis, Louis Armstrong,
Hal Kemp, Artie Shaw, Ella
POP CULTURE
Best selling books of the 1930’s:
1. Now In November (1934): A fictional account of a
family’s experience on the land and their trials
and tribulations during the Dust Bowl.
2. The Big Money(1936): Telling the story of
America’s march toward the crash.
POP CULTURE
3. Appointment in Samarra (1934): A novel about a young man
who rapidly declines after the crash and before the New Deal.
4. The Good Earth (1931): A book about two Oriental farmers
who do their best to survive in a world of famine, war, and
plague
5. The Day of the Locust (1939): An artist who comes to the West
Coast to pint the bored and lonely men and woman who
migrated to California in pursuit of dreams.
POP CULTURE
Hollywood played a valuable psychological role,
providing reassurance and hope.
Americans attended movies each week, which
helped sustain national morale.
Many complaints and boycotts from the churches.
POP CULTURE
Radio was a very important form of mass media.
Connected people to world events.
Comedians like Jack Benny, Fred Allen, George Burns,
Amos and Andy, Gracie Allen.
Daytime soap operas
Lone Ranger, Little Orphan Annie, and Green Hornet.
Listened to baseball games and horseraces..
WORK CITED"98.04.04: The Great Depression and New Deal." Yale University. N.p., n.d. Web.
4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/4/98.04.04.x.html>.
"American Cultural History - 1930-1939." LSC-Kingwood Library. N.p., n.d. Web.
4 Feb. 2014. <http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html>.
"Books From the Great Depression - WSJ.com." The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News,
Business, Financial and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123759467277400941>.
"Entertainment During the Great Depression." Fayetteville-Manlius Schools. N.p., n.d. Web.
4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fmschools.org/webpages/2websites/index.cfm?subpage=24687>.
"Gitlow v. New York | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law." The Oyez
Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of
the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-
1939/1922/1922_19>.
WORK CITED"Having Fun – Radio During the Depression." Wessels Living
History Farm, Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_15.html>.
"The Left Front: Radical Art in the "Red Decade," 1929-1940
opens at the Block Museum." The First Art Newspaper on the Net.
N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://artdaily.com/news/67545/The-
Left-Front--Radical-Art-in-the--Red-Decade---1929-1940-opens-at-
the-Block-Museum>.
"Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression [ushistory.org]."
US History. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.ushistory.org/us/48e.asp>.
"Social Security Act of 1935." N.p., Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.dsusd.k12.ca.us/users/scottsh/Social%20Security
%20Act%20of%201935.htm>.
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